Friday, February 14, 2014

The Top 10 Moments of the Olivia Caribbean Equality and Leadership Cruise -- PART 1!

Antigone Rising spent the last week aboard Olivia Travel's Caribbean Equality and Leadership Cruise. I suspected when we climbed aboard it was going to be a career highlight for us. We have been blessed as a band to be handed some seriously major perks: opening for The Stones and The Allmans, traveling to Israel and the West Bank via the US Gov't., and now this past week on board a ship with some of the most influential women of the 21st century, including Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, Maya Angelou, Indigo Girls, and the list goes on.

So I have compiled a Top 10 list from the event. Fortunately, much of the week was captured by photo or video! So without further ado, I bring you the highlights:

#10: Jammin' with Vickie Shaw!
Comedian, Vickie Shaw, joined us on stage one night. Fortunately it was caught on video, because words could not possibly describe. Just hit play:

#9: Towel Origami
I did not know towel origami existed until we returned to our cabin every single night of the cruise to the most interesting designs! I airlifted these photos from Olivia's Eastern Caribbean Cruise 2014 Facebook page.

Photo credit: Sue Meyers

Photo credit: Sue Meyers

#8: Amy Ray from Indigo Girls at our first show
Whenever you are on board a ship with the Indigo Girls, you secretly hope they will come out to your show. Or not so secretly hope it. And you also hope their amazing guitar technician, Sulli, will hang out as well. Fortunately, on Super Bowl Sunday, Sulli and Amy did not disappoint:

Amy Ray from The Indigo Girls at our show on Super Bowl Sunday 2014!

IGs guitar tech, Sulli! We promised Amy we would not 'poach' Sulli,
so long as Amy would not 'poach' our Tony.

#7: Mona Lisa Breakfasts

Aboard Holland America's Ms. Westerdam is the nicest group of people working to make your week extremely pleasant. Our number one favorite employee aboard the boat was the ever friendly morning chef, Mona Lisa. On day one, she looked up at us and said, "you're tHE BAND!!!!!!"

Yes, Mona Lisa. We are the band! Thank you for noticing!

"I play guitar just like all of you," Mona Lisa told us. She was so sweet and friendly every single morning. She accommodated all of our various egg needs - from hard boiled to over easy. And she made us feel right at home. Mona Lisa, thanks for making our trip so special:

Antigone Rising with Mona Lisa aboard the Ms. Westerdam!

#6: Singing show tunes with Elizabeth Birch
It turns out the most beautiful place on Earth is Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. It is a private island owned or rented by cruise lines - I couldn't completely follow it - but basically our cruise ship rolled in, and we were the only people inhabiting this beautiful swath of beach for the entire afternoon. Olivia Travel threw a party for all the artists and guest speakers aboard the boat, so we spent the afternoon floating in the caribbean with women like Edie Windsor, Elizabeth Birch (former CEO of HRC) and Kate Kendal (President of NCLR).

Intelligent conversation with influential power players turns to Broadway Show tunes on the first deck of the Olivia Cabana, with your hosts - Dena Tauriello, Kristen Ellis-Henderson and.....Elizabeth Birch? An unlikely threesome, we know, but the chemistry was undeniable as we sang songs from Blood Brothers to Pippin with some Ann Murray sprinkled in!

Of course, we lived the moment rather than captured it on film. So you must use your imaginations to picture it. We were actually wearing bikinis and holding drinks in coconuts with umbrellas as stirrers, but you get the point with the above doctored image and we don't have to be reminded how bad we looked in our bikins.

And now meet Elizabeth Birch via video. We think she'd make a fine addition to the band. Don't you agree?

Stay tuned for highlights 1 through 5 here at "Hangin' With Hendo" next week!

2 comments:

My prog rockers have been doing cruises for, I think, two or three years already. There is one remarkable marketing strategist among you and your entourage. I have followed with interest both the cruise and the pledge campaign and will pledge as soon as I can.